Along Came a Spider
by Crazy Phoenix Productions
Summary: Ryu meets Juri for the first time.


Along Came a Spider

There are certain times in a man's life when he is tested to his limits and those limits are then broken. I say a man because I'm a man, and this is the story of my limits and how they were broken.

The wind was icy in its cruelness as the grass broke under my toes. I walked toward the mountain dojo I had called home for as long as I can remember. My name is Ryu, and waiting for me at the entrance of my home was a woman. She was a short, dark haired, and possessed a psychotic glee in her eyes. The designer long coat she was clothed in hung loosely over her petite figure and her raven hair was up in two spindly buns. Her rich Korean features curled into a disturbing smile as she licked her lips, "I've been waiting for you." Her voice was full of anticipation and her words almost erotic.

"Who are you?" I yelled.

"Oh I _have_ been waiting for you." She repeated, "Will you be the one to finally satisfy my needs?"

"Lady, tell me who you are or get out of my dojo."

"Your dojo?" she giggled, "I thought it belonged to your master... Goken was it?"

I dropped my duffle bag as my master's name rolled off her lips like a summer breeze, "Identify yourself, Now."

"Ohhh yeah, feel that fighting spirit." She moaned, "If I knew saying your master's name would get you this worked up…" She grinned a toothy grin, "I would have said it sooner." She pulled her coat off and tossed it at me. Had I been slower it would have obscured her long enough to allow her spinning circle kick to connect. As it was I avoided the blow with little effort. What I didn't see was the fist that caught the back of head. It was swift attack aimed at disabling me by rattling my brain. She was fast enough to catch me off guard. Thankfully, my years of training around the world had made my body strong and I was little more than stung by her blow. I hopped away and got some distance, "So far," She quipped with her finger to her chin, "D… but you _do_ look delicious." She licked her lips.

I got a good look at her. She was clothed for a fight. Below her chin was a… vest I guess it could be called. It was little more than a bandana meant to cover a good portion of her breasts. It didn't even do that well. Eight leather straps wound around her torso in spider's legs. Just below her hips was a modified Taekwondo gi cut to look like chaps. Underneath the gi she wore hot pink leggings with purple high-lights. In fact now that I think about it, hot-pink and purple was kind of her whole color scheme, aside from the gi being white and black.

This time I took the initiative. I rushed her with my knee out-stretched. She dodged it by spring boarding off of it upside down. She hadn't studied me or she wouldn't have made that decision. I planted feet and launched my fist into the air, "Shoryuken!" I always announce my specials. I have a duty to do so. I hurt a good man once. I have a duty to announce my moves. My Shoryuken connected with her chin and she tumbled backward. She landed gracefully and charged.

She fired a rapid set of punches and kicks some of which connected and hurt more than I expected them too. What caused me to pause was her mouth. My technique had caused her bleed profusely, but she seemed to enjoy the fluid as his dribbled down her chin. I paid for loosing focus. She twisted her hips and spun with a kick that connected at my jaw and sent me flying. I landed with a scrape as I slid to a halt. _My_ lip was bleeding now.

We rushed in trading blows, and for the most part were evenly matched, but her speed was quickly providing her the advantage. I had to change the game or I was going to end up on my back.

The woman I had come to know by her psychotic smile reached in for a grapple. This was the mistake I needed. She was fast but not overly strong, the force of her blows was directly related to the speed at which they were delivered. A grapple was just what I needed. I broke her grasp, and she tipped forward, off balance. I reached for her collar and grabbed the sides of her vest. I stepped in behind her and pushed her to the ground in a blow that would have devastated her had she not intentionally tripped me. As it was, I landed on top of her, our faces inches apart, "Oh yeah." She smiled, "You don't disappoint." Her tongue traced the length of my face. She proceeded to kick me off of her.

We both got to our feet. This fight was threatening to last too long and we were both getting tired. We paused, her chest heaved with every labored breath. The next surge was going to determine the victor. I summoned everything I had left and she did the same. Our bodies sparked with energy as sweat rolled down our nooks and crevices, "Yeah, baby." She screamed and broke into a sprint. I followed suit as I charged her.

"Metsu…" I announce as we close in on each other

"Kaisen…" She yelled in response.

Our master techniques met in the air as my Shoryuken met her Dankairaku. Something neither of us expected happened. Our energies met, joined and became one. A small bubble of energy formed at the center and sucked the air from between us. The resulting vacuum slammed us together in a such a way that damaged portions of our clothing. She lost the bindings on her left hair bun, and one of her gi legs was ripped completely off. I had most of my upper gi torn off and the fringe of my pants tattered. We slammed into the ground, beaten and bloody.

For a moment, we lingered before I drug myself to the porch of my master's dojo and propped myself up. She followed suit and set up beside me. Her fight was gone, as mine was. She tipped over so that we were shoulder to shoulder. She turned her head to me and nibbled on my ear, "Was it good for you?" her voice was breathless and heavy. It was one of the best fights I had had in years, but I didn't say in so many words.

"What's your name?" I wondered

"Juri… Han." She rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

Her chest slowed rhythm as she fell asleep. A deep, satisfied smile crossed her lips.


End file.
